Street address:
Level 1, 45 Wakefield Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Postal address:
GPO Box 292
Adelaide SA 5001
Phone: 8207 0060
Fax: 8207 0066
Email: adoptions@dfc.sa.gov.au

Home » Families and young people » Adoption » Past adoption

The Department for Families and Communities (DFC) is now the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI). Families SA, including the child protection and family support functions, is now part of the new Department for Education and Child Development. Youth Justice remains with DCSI and the Department now includes Multicultural SA, Northern Connections, Office for the Southern Suburbs, Office for Volunteers, Office for Women, Office for Youth and Social Inclusion. Contact details for these offices are available on the Contacts page.

The department is currently reviewing its online information and updates are in progress. Departmental information can still be found using the search function on this site. For more information about South Australian government services please visit www.sa.gov.au.

United Kingdom past adoption information

Last Updated Nov 2008

The UK adoption laws have recently changed so that information is now more accessible to parties to a past adoption that was completed in the UK The changes also affect current adoptions. These laws came into effect on 30 December 2005. You can read about these changes on the British Association of Adoption and Fostering website.

UK official web resources:

These web sites provide information about how to access UK adoption information and also provide information about search and contact.

England - Adoption Search and Reunion
Northern Ireland - General Register Office (Northern Ireland)
Scotland - General Register Office for Scotland
Wales - Adoption Search and Reunion

What help can I get in South Australia to access my UK adoption information?

We are regularly contacted by people looking for their adoption information where the adoption occurred in the UK. The inquiries often come from adopted people and birth parents who immigrated to Australia some time after the adoption.

If you are an adopted person or a birth parent where the adoption occurred in the UK, you can only gain access to the original files through the adoption authorities in the UK. We are able to assist by providing information about how to go about contacting those authorities. We are approved to release the information once it is provided by the UK authorities. Contact us for more information.

Post Adoption Support Service

You can obtain similar help from the Post Adoption Support Service of Relationships Australia. They are also authorised to release UK adoption information.